Our Exclusive Interview With Two Brothers Developer, Ackk Studios

We're very excited to announce that we've reached out to independent (indie) video game developer Ackk Studios for some exclusive insight on their upcoming Wii U eShop title. Two Brothers is an action-adventure role-playing game (RPG) created in the style of Game Boy games, scheduled to be released for Wii U, Windows PC, Xbox 360, and OS X. We've been keeping a watchful eye on this game since it was revealed last year. If you haven't heard of Ackk Studios, now is the time to become familiar with who they are and what they're capable of bringing to your video game entertainment haven.

Starting out as an indie developer is no easy task. Success or failure depends on the amount of support they receive from fans. Indie developers are slowly revolutionizing the digital software industry by introducing unique concepts and creativity, usually priced significantly lower than first-party software. Ackk Studios launched their Kickstarter project for Two Brothers on August 28th, 2012 and it turned out to be a huge success. The initial pledge goal to fund Two Brothers was set at $6,000. Just one month later, that amount was nearly tripled when fans came together to contribute a total of $16,257. That's a pretty overwhelming support structure!

Here's what Ackk Studios shared with us about Two Brothers!

NN: It's a privilege and honor that we've been given the exclusive opportunity to interview the creative minds behind Two Brothers - an upcoming action-adventure role-playing game for the Wii U eShop. To begin, can you tell us a bit about Ackk Studios?AS: Sure. Ackk Studios was created in 2010 by Brian and Andrew Allanson, two brothers that loved making video games. Soon after, Tyler Steele and Ian Bailey, fellow game designers that Brian and Andrew had worked with while in college, also joined Ackk Studios. After working on the game for about a year, we launched a Kickstarter campaign in August of 2012 in order to help fund our first game: Two Brothers.

NN: Two Brothers is an interesting title for a game. How did that name come about?AS: We chose the name Two Brothers because the game follows the adventure of Roy and Bivare Guarder, and their quest for color.

NN: Can you tell us a bit about the storyline and what players can expect to accomplish throughout the game?AS: At the beginning of Two Brothers, Roy and Bivare are searching for the origins of life when things go horribly wrong and Roy ends up dying. He ends up in an afterlife that is filled with colors that he has never seen before, but he is told that it is not yet his time, and is brought back to life. Because of this experience, Roy becomes obsessed and sets out with Bivare to see if these colors exist in their world too.

Throughout the course of the game, players are not punished for dying. When the player dies, they will enter the Afterlife Hub where they can interact with Non-player Characters (NPCs) and solve puzzles. When ready, the player can jump off the side of the Afterlife and come back to life.

NN: How will Two Brothers make use of the Wii U GamePad? Also, will Miiverse be integrated into the gameplay?AS: At the moment we are not ready to discuss how we will use the Wii U GamePad.

NN: When can consumers expect to see Two Brothers come to life in the Wii U eShop? And, how much can they expect to purchase the game for?AS: Right now the plan is to release Two Brothers for the PC, Mac, and Linux Summer of 2013, with the Wii U launch later on in the year. Unfortunately, at the moment, we are not ready to discuss the price of the game.

NN: Two Brothers will be available in North America, but what about other regions like Europe and Australia?AS: We would love to be able to release the game outside of North America, however at this time our focus is entirely on making sure we can complete what we are already working on.

NN: Will Two Brothers support the Classic Controller Pro?AS: We plan on using it, as Unity allows support of the Pro controller; however we are still in the development stages for the Wii U, so things can change.

NN: Will Two Brothers receive any type of Downloadable Content (DLC)?AS: Like the games that came out 10-20 years ago, the entire story will be told without the use of DLC.

NN: Developing a game for the Wii U must have been a great experience. Were there any unexpected hurdles involved?AS: At the moment no major hurdles jump to mind, however we are still in the porting process, so ask us again when the game is released.

Thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us and share these details. The tea has been splendid if I do say so myself. We're very excited with the talent and dedication that the team has contributed to making Two Brothers a success. We can't wait until later this year when we get the chance to experience this title. You guys and gals are amazing.

NN: Finally, is there any inside info you can share with fans?AS: Yea. During the course of the game, there is an extensive side quest that Ian and Brian have been developing. The player will be able to complete the quest in any order that they choose. However, while we can't really talk about the content of this side quest, we can say that if the player fully completes this quest it will drastically change how the games ending plays out.

"AS: At the moment we are not ready to discuss how we will use the Wii U GamePad."
I'm willing to put my reputation on the line and go out on a limb to say that the Wii U GamePad will be used to play the game.

Nobody wants to talk about this, but I'll bring it up. After the fishing contest, the whole town was poisoned to death. And that's why to this day we don't eat Dungeon Fish.

No, but in all seriousness, the game looks really interesting and I had never heard of it until it was mentioned by the author/interviewer in the ShoutBox. I'll definitely be keeping a look out for reviews about it. The art is beautiful.

It was funny because when I read "Two Brothers" I thought of Mario and Luigi. I don't have any brothers, so this game will show me exactly what it's like having brothers. Apparently it's like living in a world without color.

Nice interview
Hopefully they'll announce when euro/aus will be able to get the game (hopefully it won't be too expensive to get classification in Aus).

The bare minimum for classification is a Level 2 application, which asks for AU$890, so it will definitely be expensive, unfortunately. It won't be hitting here any time soon. Still, the game looks and sounds very interesting, so I'll be trying to keep my eyes on it.